Savings account interest rates have been plummeting. Here are five of the best alternatives to a savings account to make the most of your money. Putting your money away in a high yield savings account is one of the smartest and safest moves you can make. The first $250,000 is insured per account holder and […]
I’m a huge fan on online banking. In fact, I opened our first online savings account with ING Direct (now Capital One 360) over ten years ago, and I haven’t looked back since. Sure, I still have a local brick and mortar bank for convenience, but I keep the vast majority of our savings online. […]
In the past, we’ve talked about the high cost of elder care. Now, I wanted to spend a bit of time talking about long term care (LTC) insurance. In general terms, LTC coverage applies to individuals who are not actually sick, but are not able to perform the basic “activities of daily living.” These include […]
Homeowners insurance is a necessity for those who own a home. It’s also required by mortgage companies. Here are some practical ways to save money on homeowners insurance. We’ve written in the past about how to save money on health insurance, life insurance, and car insurance. Today, I’m going to round things out with an article […]
Lowering car insurance costs is a great way to save money. Sometimes a quick phone call is all it takes. Here are 6 ways to save money on car insurance. Everyone is always looking for new ways to save money. Cutting expenses, trimming monthly bills, and tightening the budget are all great options. And this […]
For several years before 2017, mortgage interest rates just kept falling. Just when you thought they couldn’t go any lower, they did. But with the Fed’s recent announcement of an increased benchmark rate, banks are bumping up their prime lending rates. Even still, rates are quite low. Freddie Mac puts the average mortgage rate for 30-year […]
It’s that time of year again… taxes are due in two weeks! So if you haven’t finished your returns yet, it’s time to get cracking. But what if you realize that you’re not going to make it in time? Well, I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is that you […]
I’m sure that you’ve heard this before, but it bears repeating: when you’re getting your financial house in order, your first step should be to build up an emergency fund. An emergency fund helps you get through financial rough patches in your life — broken washing machines, unexpected medical bills, and the like — without […]
Over the weekend, I sat down to talk a bit about money with our oldest son. He receives a decent monthly allowance; he got some gift money for his birthday back in October, and he also makes money from random jobs like pet sitting, etc. Yet, he was broke… and more importantly, he wasn’t sure how […]
No one wants to think about death — but ignoring the possibility doesn’t change the fact that you still need to prepare for the worst. A big part of this planning process is buying a life insurance policy. In writing about how to save money on life insurance, I mentioned that you shouldn’t buy too […]